


Ashes in the Fall - Prologue

by Rhianona



Series: Ashes in the Fall [1]
Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003), Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1
Genre: Ashes in the Fall, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2009-12-28
Updated: 2009-12-28
Packaged: 2017-10-05 10:29:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/40752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rhianona/pseuds/Rhianona
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Massive au. While trying to find Earth, the Galactica finds trouble in the form of the Wraith. Separated from her people, Kara Thrace finds herself thrust into a new world that confuses her as much as it scares her. Can she find the peace that she needs? Or the rest of the Colonials? What about the Cylons?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ashes in the Fall

** _Prologue:_ **

Elizabeth felt a headache forming as she finally stopped procrastinating and looked at the last file remaining on her tablet. She had an hour before the rest of the senior staff arrived for their weekly meeting and knew she had to give an opinion on their latest guest. She assumed she could say goodbye to any wishes for an early day at the same time.

She only hoped there's enough coffee to go around.

Sighing, she opened the damned file, wondering with a sense of the sardonic when she had started to sound like John and Rodney.

The file was rather full, considering they still didn't know a lot about their guest. Medical reports, AARs from both Lorne and John, reports from Rodney and Radek. She half expected to see something from the cooks in here! She clicked on the first report and settled down to learn as much as she could. A decision needed to be made and soon.

***

Most of the time John thought these weekly meetings were nothing more than a nuisance. Necessary but rarely exciting. The problem was that anything truly important was dealt with immediately. That left the weekly meetings for regular, run-of-the-mill updates on the status of the City's inhabitants. He had tried to pawn the meetings off on his 2IC but Elizabeth had yelled at him for that. Instead, he tried to come as close to the start of the meeting as he could without being late. It helped that both Rodney and Zelenka came five to ten minutes after the meeting was supposed to start, usually arguing about whatever the latest topic in the lab was. If it was a particularly slow week, he could always count on the two scientists insisting they needed to return to the labs "so we don't all die horrible fiery deaths because of that idiot in Lab 4 who actually thinks that because he has a degree from MIT he can work unsupervised…" Or something along similar lines that means the meeting would be adjourned sooner than expected.

Also, he installed Sudoku on his tablet.

Today was different. John arrived at his usual time to find he was the last to arrive. He blamed Cadman. If she hadn't stopped him to ask about the last field exercise he would have been here ten minutes earlier like he had planned. Sometimes it sucked being the military commander of Atlantis.

"Sit down John," Elizabeth told him, a smirk on her face. He refused to pout as he took the only remaining seat at the table.

"Now that we are all here," she began, as if John had been late instead of exactly on time, "why don't we start with you Carson?" she asked. "How is our guest today?"

Carson opened the folder in front of him, the notes there in case he needed to refresh his memory. The report that followed was nothing special: their guest had healed from most of her injuries, though he wanted to continue physical therapy on her knee for a few more weeks. He added that there was no reason to keep her in the infirmary anymore and that he's willing to authorize her release in the morning. He knew that whether that happened or not was completely dependent on the results of today's meeting. Personally, he hoped she was released; he's tired of thwarting attempted escapes.

He paused for a moment, not really wanting to release the last bit of information he had on their guest. It's going to start a debate he really didn't want to hear, but knew needed to happen. He hesitated long enough that Elizabeth could tell he had something else to say and she asked him what it is.

"I had the nurse do a standard genetic scan on one of the blood samples we took. It's a good means of training and well… I figured it couldn't hurt. The results are… surprising."

"Well, spit it out Carson! Some of us have very important things we need to be doing!" Rodney exclaimed when it looked like Carson wasn't going to continue.

"Rodney! I'm getting to it!" Carson said, a bit miffed that his friend couldn't wait a moment for him to collect his thoughts. "She has the gene." There he said it. He looked up and almost laughed at expressions on people's faces. For someone who was so impatient just moments before, Rodney now looked as if he wasn't going anywhere for a while. For all that they've been on Atlantis for six years now, for all that it was now easier to identify the gene than ever before, finding someone who had it naturally was still so damned rare that it was a BIG deal. More so because it's someone they found in Pegasus.

"But. What?" Rodney sputtered. "Wait, are you sure she's not an Ancient?" His eyes narrowed in suspicion. Atlantis was theirs and the Ancients weren't getting her back. Not without a fight.

"No. She's definitely not an Ancient. But her expression of the gene is at least as strong as the Colonel's." Once again, Carson braced himself for explosion. This time everyone seemed to have something to say.

"Enough!" Elizabeth finally shouted, as no one seemed to want to quiet after this bit of startling information. "Is there anything else Carson?" she asked.

"Just that wherever she's from has a high level of technology. The medical history the scanner was able to pick up seems to indicate that at least."

"Okay. So she has the gene," Elizabeth said, breathing in deeply. She didn't even want to start thinking of what that means. She turned to John, figuring they should get on with the meeting before they even discuss the implications of their guest having a strong expression of the gene. "John, what do you have to say about our guest?"

"Captain Cadman reports that our guest still refuses to respond to any questions she's asked. On the plus side, she hasn't tried to escape the infirmary for two days, something for which my marines are thankful. Instead, she seems to be watching," John stated lazily, slouching down in his chair as usual. Their guest had proven that just because someone looked fragile and barely able to stand, it didn't mean they were helpless. Quite a few of his men and women had ended up in the infirmary because they hadn't taken her seriously. He was a bit annoyed that his marines hadn't been able more effective against her to begin with and it didn't help that Rodney made sure to tease him about it at all opportunities. John had decided to consider it a great training exercise and he rather thought that Ronon approved.

Of course Ronon liked anything that involved some amount of violence.

"I'm sure Carson and his nurses appreciate that she is no longer trying to escape," Elizabeth commented wryly. Turning to the rest of the table, she asked, "Is there anything else anyone wants to add?"

Rodney and Radek looked at each other, communicating as only they could. Surprisingly, both had been frequent visitors of their guest. Well, perhaps not so surprising for Radek to do so – after all, it was doubtful he would have lived if not for her. John suspected that Rodney visited because of Radek. Never let it be said that scientists were disloyal to their own.

"She seems to be… cautious around certain technologies," Rodney finally stated. "It's obvious she recognizes and knows how to use various pieces of technology that would normally be stared at blankly by those we've met in Pegasus. But, she shies away from others. It's annoying. She's acting like a retarded monkey," Rodney finished with his usual tact – or lack thereof.

John raised an eyebrow at that while Radek muttered something less than complimentary in Czech before smacking him in the head. As Rodney started yelling about abuse and how Radek just wanted his job, Elizabeth tried to restore order. After several moments she succeeded as Radek and Rodney glared daggers at one another. In other words, everything was normal.

"I'm certain there is a reason for her actions, but that is not the issue before us. I need to know whether there is any reason we shouldn't want her here on Atlantis. The IOA is expecting a report tomorrow morning and if she's a danger, I need to know. The last thing we want is for them to decide to come to Atantis," Elizabeth said. They had all worked too hard to keep the IOA as far away from the daily workings of Atlantis as possible. It helped that General O'Neill was on their side.

Glances around the table showed a rare showing of unanimity. Even the usually suspicious Ronon seemed to think keeping her out of Atlantis was a bad thing. Of course the fact she had tried to take out a Wraith single-handedly with nothing more than a pistol and a knife might have something to do with that. Elizabeth made sure to look every one of her senior staff in the eye before nodding. "So, she stays. Carson, let John know when she's free to go tomorrow and he'll arrange an escort," she ordered. Turning to John she continued, "John, standard procedure for this type of situation. Unless anyone else has something to add, you're free to go."

It never failed to amuse her to see her staff flee from these meetings as if the hounds of hell were on their heels. Today was no different, though she noticed that Ronon and Teyla were speaking to John as they left. Rodney and Radek had already made a beeline for the labs and she suspected it would be another long night for them. Just as it would be for her. Given her people's recommendation and her own feelings on the matter, she had a report to write. She would have to bring all her diplomacy skills to bear on this one, but she was up for the challenge. After all, having another person with a strong expression of the gene was not something at which to scoff. She just wished she knew from which rock their guest had crawled out. Life was about to get very interesting on Atlantis. Hopefully the city would survive intact.


	2. Ashes in the Fall - Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara meets Team SGA

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Pairings:** See extended author's note in prologue for full list  
> **Spoilers:** Anything before _Exodus Part II_ for BSG and through mid-Season 3 of SGA and mid-Season 10 for SG-1.  
> **Disclaimer:** [Insert witty comment here] I most assuredly do not own BSG, SGA or SG-1, nor am I partaking of any profits.

**Chapter 1**

The world was spinning and Kara tried to fight it. The Viper was falling and spinning and falling and she's struggling to pull up the stick long enough, hard enough to slow it down so that maybe, maybe she had a chance of ejecting and not dieing. It's like that damned red planet all over again except this time she didn't think the Fleet would hang around for days on end and waste the fuel that had only become more precious to try and find her. She only hoped that this planet was more habitable than the last one she crash-landed on.

 

_Earlier_

CAP was going smoothly and Kara was trying to ignore the itch between her shoulder blades that usually meant something bad was going to happen. She didn't believe in divination or the Sight and scoffed when someone said destiny. She believed just enough though to listen to her premonitions, as Helo laughingly called them. He got punched for his efforts, but Kara couldn't help but agree with his assessment.

Unfortunately, the Admiral wasn't going to jump the whole of the Fleet because one of his pilots had an itch. There might have been a chance once upon a time for that to happen, once when they were family and she could go to him for comfort and advice. But that hadn't been for a long two and a half years and Kara had long since stopped hoping.

When they got the call to come back in halfway through their CAP, Kara sent a prayer of thanks to the Gods, even though it meant they'll have to be ready to re-launch as soon as they came out of their jump in case the Cylons were waiting. Have to protect the civilians after all.

She gave the order to return to _Galactica_, waiting until the rest of the Vipers landed before she followed. None of the pilots even bother getting out of their birds; it's not worth it for the five minutes it'll take to jump. She felt the familiar disorientation of being pulled and squeezed before they get the all clear and she led the launch back into space.

She stared dumbly at the ship they seem to have jumped next to – and which seemed to take offense at their sudden appearance if their aggressive reaction was a clue.

Of course, she thought. It frakking figured that they ended up in some type of firefight with some strange ships that look nothing like the Cylons' but were apparently as deadly as they turned and started to fire on the civilian ships that appeared out of nowhere next to them. Kara barked an alert to the CIC even as the Admiral was ordering them to protect the civilians and to remain defensive. She lets the familiarity of combat take over and she pushed her Viper to take the lead in the defensive perimeter they establish. Out here, she's in charge and she directed her fellow pilots into positions designed to provide the most protection.

The ships she faced were nothing like the Cylons she was used to fighting. They resembled a Viper more than anything else, but appeared to have very different capabilities. Over the comm she heard the order given to the civilian captains to make emergency jumps. Flashes of light in her periphery alerted her to their compliance, but that didn't seem to faze their attackers. If anything, it made them more aggressive.

Furthest from the safety of _Galatica_, she directed her pilots to defend with pattern Alpha Red. It's one of the simplest defense patterns they've learned, but it's also one of the most effective. Vipers swooped and looped in the spaces between the ships, taking care to intercept the enemy, trying to ensure that the civilians could get out of here without any casualties. Raptors hung back, ready to rescue any pilots that were forced to eject into the coldness that was space. Kara could hear Helo in the background chatter directing his birds and pilots, providing the Admiral with information he needed to direct. "Frak!" she shouted into her comm. "_Galactica_ this is Starbuck. The big ship is heading to intercept _Galactica_. Repeat, the big ship is heading for interception," she warned, her voice cutting across the chatter.

Silence hung on the comm for a moment. Then, "Starbuck, you are the only one in position for interception. How are your missiles?"

"_Galactica_, currently in possession of three missiles and one tactical nuke. Please advise." Kara concentrated on avoiding the streams of light passing her, barely heard as Helo ordered her pilots to switch to Alpha Pattern Blue in response to CIC's orders.

"Starbuck, fire your missiles at will. Save the nuke until last," she heard over the comm. Unspoken but understood was that the nuke was too precious to waste if regular missiles could bring the ship down.

"_Galactica_, understood," Kara confirmed her orders. She aimed her Viper in such a way to intercept the enemy ship. Her reflexes reacted automatically as she skillfully flew her Viper into the heat of battle. First one missile was released; then the second; the third followed soon after. She followed the path of the missiles both through the DRADIS and visually. "_Galacita_ be advised that missiles 1 and 2 hit some type of energy field. Missile 3 impacted the stern but ship is still advancing towards your position. Please advise!"

Several moments passed while Kara did her best to avoid getting hit by the enemy. She knew that if _Galactica_ was able to jump, then she would be ordered back to the barn rather than use one of the last tactical nukes they had left. Even as she thought that, she could hear the panic over the comm of a civilian ship's captain as he alerted the Admiral that his jump drives needed to be restarted before he could make the jump. She positioned herself for the run she knew was now inevitable and was proven right as the order came over the comm.

"Starbuck, you have a go. Run weapons hot." Taking a deep breath, she focused on what was ahead of her. She couldn't afford to miss, couldn't afford being responsible for the loss of a civie ship. She lined up, ready to take a shot.

"Starbuck watch out!" came over the comm and she cursed as the weapons fire impacted her wing. "Frak me!" she called out. Took a moment, looked at her instruments. She flipped off the starboard engine and breathed in and out deeply. She could do this. "_Galactica_ I've lost the starboard engine. Compensating and completing run." She ignored the calls on the comm – Helo, even the Admiral – and focused only on what was at hand. She fought to keep her Viper level, to keep herself out of the beads of fire that swirled around her. Her target ahead of her, she drew in a breath and slowly let it out as she fired her last missile.

She reversed her Viper, grimacing, as it didn't respond as fluidly as it should. She prayed to the Gods as she pushed it to go faster, to get out of the blast zone. Dimly she heard the orders to the other pilots to get to safety, to make sure they were clear. In her head, the countdown started once the nuke had been fired inexorably headed to zero. Even as she glanced at DRADIS, she knew she wasn't far enough out to miss the blast zone. Damn close though.

"Frak!" she cursed softly as the Viper shuddered, her craft surrounded by debris form the enemy ship. She spun out of control as her wing was clipped. Looking out, she saw it damaged, fracturing the small amount of control she already had.

Her ship was spinning away from _Galactica_, away from safety and she knew she was about to be sucked into the gravity of the planet. "_Galactica_, missle was a success," she reported to CIC, her voice calm even as she realized she wasn't likely to make it out of this one alive. "My Viper has taken some pretty severe damage," she continued.

"Starbuck, we confirm the kill. What is your damage?"

"_Galactica_, starboard engine is fried and debris knocked out the wing."

The comm was silent. Everyone knew what it meant. The question was if they would be able to rescue her. The silence was broken by the civilian captain reporting that his jump engines were back online and he was going to make the jump.

"Starbuck, we'll send someone to retrieve you. Eject," came the order. With the last of the civilian ships away and the enemy destroyed more or less, they could afford to pick her up. As she was about to comply, she heard the ping on the DRADIS of another ship entering the area. She knew before the order came to belay the ejection that it was another enemy ship.

"_Galactica_, it was an honor," she told them before Dee or the Admiral could come through with platitudes they all knew were patently false.

"Kara! No!" Helo cried out, breaking radio protocol.

"This is how it must be Helo," she told him. "Tell Hera I'm sorry I won't be there tonight to give her a bedtime story. May the Lords of Kobol watch over you," she intoned before flipping the comm off. She did not want to hear whatever might come over the comms, not now. If she were to die, well then it would be one her own merits and not with their recriminations and self-posturing and fear ringing in her ears.

She didn't know when the fatalistic sense she had discovered in herself had come into being. She supposed, like many things, it had been after New Caprica. Whereas before she had held out some hope, afterwards she had embraced the Fleet and her duty and knew that she would die long before they ever reached Earth. She had surprised herself with how okay she was about that. Somewhere deep inside of herself, she wondered why.

**Now**

She finally reached the appropriate altitude and with a prayer on her lips, she strained to reach the ejection lever. Gravity worked against her; with all the stubbornness in her being, the part of her that had refused to submit to Leoben while his captive, she reached and grasped the handle. Biting her lip she pulled up and with a jerk and a loud bang she flew in the air, the Viper continuing to fall below her.

She grunted as her parachute jerked, gentling her descent. Gods how she hated this!

She concentrated on following the path of her Viper. Gods willing, she would land near it and be able to gather some more essentials for survival. Otherwise, she hoped that there was enough available on the planet that would allow for her survival.

Kara drifted to the ground, grimacing as she encountered tree branches. Her flight suit protected her from their sharp grasps but her parachute was no match. She ended up dangling, the harness digging into her shoulders. Lords! How she hated this.

She swung her body so that she rested on a branch before she reached for her knife and cut the strings that bound her. Once that was done, she began a careful descent. This time, she had made it without anything worse than a few cuts and scrapes. Far better than the wrenched knee that had kept her from the sky for far too many months.

She made her way to the Viper. It was half buried in the ground, trees lying around it in destruction. She sighed as she carefully moved branches and made her way to the cockpit area. Hopefully the survival pack still lay intact.

With a crow of achievement, she withdrew the kit. She grabbed the most useful the supplies. She hesitated to throw anything away – something that looked completely useless now could mean the difference between life or death later. Still, she didn't want to bog herself down, not with potential enemies liable to show up at any moment. She had seen what looked like white beams coming from the strange aircraft she had fought in space. While the beams and ships seemed concentrated to the northwest of her, she didn't want to take any chances. It wasn't like these people asked before shooting judging by their reaction to the Fleet's arrival.

She stashed various items from the kit in different places around her landing spot, before fixing its location in her mind. Time to scout the area and see where the frak she had landed this time. At least the atmosphere was breathable, unlike that Red Planet she had ended up on last time. No worrying about her oxygen disappearing.

Kara held her sidearm in front of her, ready to shoot at the first sign of… well anything really. She had no idea what to expect, but didn't think she should explore without its comfort. As Sam could attest, Kara was a woman of action and sitting still for too long made her antsy.

She had been walking in an easterly direction for about an hour when she heard something in the distance. It sounded like someone was running. Kara was more concerned about what or whom he or she was running from than anything else. She stilled and did her best to become one with the trees.

The planet reminded her of Kobol in a way. There was no rain, but plenty of trees and danger. Of course, she didn't have a contingent of marines and convicts to back her up either, but she felt the comparison apt. Like Kobol, there were hidden dangers in the form of mysterious people who were responsible for her Viper crash landing. There was the not knowing where she was going sense of danger as well. Finally, there were the trees. Lots and lots of trees.

Kara held her breath as a short man burst out from a clump of trees, turning to look behind him before barreling further down the path in a clear state of panic. A moment later, Kara knew why as the ugliest… thing she had ever see followed.

The… alien wore what looked like some type of protective armor. She couldn't tell the color of its skin, but it was unnaturally pale. The being had long white hair and wore a mask over its face, hiding all but its mouth. It carried a weapon, but it was unlike any she had seen before. The creature was menacing as it stalked after its prey.

Kara's military instinct to protect the civilian kicked in and before she could really think to stop herself, she followed the two. Ever since New Caprica, the Fleet had drilled the same mantra into its soldiers: "The Fleet protects the civies. You give your life for the civilians. If you die, it is to protect those who couldn't protect themselves." Helo had once complained about the martyr complex the Admiral and Lee had instated. Sharon had pointed out that if they hadn't, more than half the Fleet would wash out and the Cylons would have successfully destroyed them.

Helo had responded with a kiss.

Gracefully and as quietly as she could manage, Kara followed. She quickened her pace when the big bad (or at least the one she assumed was the bad guy) seemed to go faster. She was glad of it when she came into a clearing to see the first man backing slowly away from the second.

The first man wore glasses and carried something close to his chest. He looked terrified as the second being stalked him. As it reached with its hand for the short one, Kara put in a burst of speed and tackled it away from his victim.

The next moments were a blur to Kara. She registered pain as the one she assailed responded with hard punches to her front. She could feel her ribs breaking against the unyielding attacks as Kara tried to keep the attention away from the one she had come to rescue. The man appeared to be in shock and was yelling in a language she didn't understand. The one she assaulted said nothing as it turned its attention towards her.

Kara sidestepped a punch and pulled the trigger pointblank at the creature. It didn't seem to make a difference beyond a few jerks of its body. As it kept coming towards her, it backhanded her and she went flying until she crashed into a tree, her knee banging hard as he body went one way and her knee remained against the harsh unyielding tree. She groaned as she felt something snap. Again.

"Why is it always the knee?" she muttered angrily as she dragged herself up. She didn't have to look far for the ugly as he was stalking towards her. She grabbed her knife from her belt. Bullets hadn't seemed to do anything but hopefully gutting the damn thing would stop it.

Adrenaline surged through her veins as it picked her up. She had the knife parallel to her arm like any good knife fighter. She had been taught well after all. As the being raised its hand towards her, she struck, swiping the knife under its guard and stabbing it in the stomach, the only area she could see not covered by armor. It grunted and threw her to the ground. Kara lost the grip of the knife and cursed as it withdrew it and threw it to the side.

Kara scrambled backwards, aiming for the knife. The civie who had been quiet and frankly she had no idea why he didn't run away again, seemed to have gotten his act together enough to shoot a firearm at it as it leaned down to wards her. It growled and looked up at what had annoyed it. Kara used its distraction to grab the knife and with a harsh cry sprang up and leapt on the creature's back. With one hand, she attempted to wretch its head back, while the other aimed the knife to slit its throat. Unfortunately, it had a different idea and with a roar of rage, flipped her over it and threw her to he ground. Kara grunted as she landed hard on the unforgiving surface, sticks and rocks digging into her body through her fight suit. 'Yeah,' she thought as she tried to move out of its reach, 'I'm gonna be sore tomorrow.'

Once again, the creature reached for her, succeeding in grabbing her leg and dragging her towards it. It flipped her over, slamming her head into the ground as it did so. Kara couldn't make out its expression but she rather thought it grinned with malevolence as it once again reached down with its hand towards her chest, straddling her to keep her in place. She brought up her knife, slashing its hand and gaping with some horror, as it seemed to heal before her eyes. 'Frak me!' she thought, panicking a bit at the thought of her imminent death. Kara tried to dislodge her attacker but wasn't very successful. Blood rushed through her head, her breath harsh as she tried to kill her attacker, deafening her to any other sounds. Just as the creature's hand tore the flight suit from her chest, the creature jerked as gunfire erupted. It collapsed on top of her, covering her in blood and almost suffocating her.

'Huh,' she thought. 'Apparently pumping enough bullets inside it will kill them. Good to know… Just hope whoever just shot that thing doesn't decide to shoot me too!'

***

Radek looked at the scene before him with relief. The Colonel and his men had arrived in time. He was astonished that the stranger who had saved his life had lasted so long against the Wraith warrior. He wondered if he was Satedan – the only other people in this galaxy who even acted as his rescuer had.

"How you doing Dr. Zelenka?" Colonel Sheppard asked, smiling that they had found their missing person. He had already made the call to Stackhouse to bring the Jumper to their location.

"Fine, fine, Colonel. That person saved me," Radek responded, his neck craning to watch as Lorne and Ronon heaved the corpse off the person beneath.

"Do you know who it is?" Teyla asked softly.

"No. He came out of nowhere and went after the Wraith," Radek told them. Sheppard raised an eyebrow in interest. It wasn't often that someone in the Pegasus galaxy acted like that. Most were convinced that the Wraith were invincible, even as word spread of the Atlantis expedition's success in taking out whole hiveships. He wondered what planet the person came from and if there were others like him. They could use people like that.

***

Kara breathed a sigh of relief as the weight of the creature was taken off of her. She looked up to see a very large man dressed in leather standing over her. Next to him, was a man who looked military and was dressed similarly, though more heavily armed, than the person she had attempted to save. The larger man laughed as he got a look at her, and Kara surreptitiously felt for her knife. She was not willing to be taken by surprise. He offered a hand to her, to help her up and she took it warily. As she stood, she tried to put weight on her leg – tried being the operative word. 'Frak!' she thought as pain lanced through. It felt worse than it had after that damn Red Planet. 'That's it. No more crash landing. My knees can't take it and I'm not damned well not going to get grounded.'

Another man came up to her, followed by a woman and the man she had saved. The civie took her hand, shaking it and saying something in a language she didn't understand. She smiled in response, fighting to hide her panic. 'Just what I need. Crash land on a planet where I don't even speak the language. Gods know what I'll agree to.'

The military man she figured was the leader, based on how everyone seemed to gravitate towards him and follow his orders said something to her. She had no idea what it was but thought it might have something to do with the ship that had just landed in the clearing. A couple of his men helped her walk to the ship, following the others. As it rose up into the air and headed lords knew where, Kara could only hope she hadn't made a mistake.

**Author's Note:**

> **Pairings:** See extended author's note for full list  
> **Spoilers:** Anything before _Exodus Part II_ for BSG and through mid-Season 3 of SGA and mid-Season 10 for SG-1.  
> **Disclaimer:** [Insert witty comment here] I most assuredly do not own BSG, SGA or SG-1, nor am I partaking of any profits.  
> **Author's Note:** While this is a crossover between BSG, SGA and SG-1, this is primarily a fic about Kara. She is the main character, the one the whole plot revolves around. Other characters from all the series are important to her journey, but the focus is mostly on Sheppard and his gate team, Daniel Jackson, Helo and Anders. Even if you don't normally like crossovers, I hope you give it a try! I've tried to make it accessible to people who don't necessarily watch all three shows.
> 
> This fic is a long time coming. I first thought of this after seeing _Exodus Part II_ in October 2006. Like many BSG fans, I was struck by how alone Kara seemed. I didn't think at the time that the people on _Galactica_ could help heal her. She seemed too broken. I wanted to take Kara and bring her to a place where she could heal, away from the crew of _Galactica_, away from her responsibilities and away from Cylons. Too, I was frustrated by the way Lee had developed as a character; far from being the perfect partner to Kara, he had become little more than an ass. It did not look like she had him to fall back upon and with him gone I did not see many that could help her, especially since Anders walked away from her when she returned to _Galactica_ The perfect way to actually help Kara in my mind was to write a crossover. Stargate Atlantis seemed a natural pick. There is a great deal of camaraderie on Atlantis – or at least we started to see this in SGA Season 3. It also has the advantage of being connected to Earth without _being_ Earth.
> 
> Due to various circumstances I haven't actually seen the rest of BSG season 3, though I am aware, at least peripherally, what happened during the season. This fic has continuously evolved in ways parallel to certain events of BSG Season 3 and therefore some events might seem similiar; it is, by and large, completely AU after _Exodus_. At the end of this, I might actually tell you how the fic evolved from the original idea to what it is now.
> 
> I can confidently say that the SGA and SG1 aspects of the fic are AU from midseason 3 and 10 respectively, with a couple of exceptions. The basic thing to keep in mind is that most of the events from Season 3 and 10 occurred. This fic takes place in what would be Season 6. I have made two exceptions to the events: (1) Carson is still around, mostly in protest to the completely asinine way in which he died and (2) Elizabeth is still in charge of Atlantis. Too, the Ori plotline was resolved in a much different and perhaps harsher fashion with regards to Daniel Jackson.
> 
> A note on pairings: I admit I vacillated on whether to pair Kara with anyone. To be honest, I often have two versions of the same chapter, one with the pairing, one without. In the end, I have found myself very taken with a Kara/Daniel pairing and have proceeded accordingly. At any rate, the important pairings to be aware of now, in the beginning, are listed below. Note that some of the listed pairings are not going to last through the whole fic or even develop until late in the fic.   
> **Pairings:** Jack/Sam; John/Teyla; Carson/Cadman; Elizabeth/Radek; Helo/Athena; Lee/Dee; Kara/Sam; Chief/Cally; Adama/Roslin; Kara/Daniel
> 
> I originally hoped to post a chapter a week, having finished and edited and re-edited it into submission. However, as I creep on the year and a half mark from when I started this fic, I can't help but think it is better to post as I write and go back to fix anything that needs fixing in an effort to get this done. I hope you enjoy this and I welcome any comments or criticisms you provide.


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